About

The legal team of the Australian Securities Exchange listed investment management firm Challenger Limited is part of the combined legal, company secretarial and corporate affairs team and features 19 lawyers. In 2016, the team attracted attention by executing an arrangement with Mitsui Sumitomo Primary Life Insurance Company to provide Australian dollar annuities in Japan, an Australian first. The deal is particularly significant to Challenger as it provides the company with access to an Australian dollar annuities market which is seven times larger than the domestic Australian market. Andrew Goldstein, head of legal, product, explains: ‘The arrangement was a complex one requiring solutions to complex domestic and cross border regulatory issues and cultural sensitivity. Three of our internal lawyers were involved in managing a team of domestic and offshore firms in order to execute the arrangements which form a solid foundation for our ongoing relationship’. Other key transactional work for the team has recently included announcing innovative annuity relationships with AMP and BT Financial Group, launching annuity relationships with Suncorp, Clearview and three profit-for-member funds, completing in excess of $2bn AUD corporate lending transactions and $450m AUD hybrid capital raising to fund growth. Since the merge of Challenger’s corporate affairs and advocacy teams into one single legal unit in 2015, the team has demonstrated an ability to approach issues through a series of lenses and to provide more integrated outcomes. An example of this is how the team can deal with law reform and the team’s ability to prepare government submissions in a broader way, such as recent submissions on the Federal Government’s consultation on MyRetirement reforms. When asked about the team’s culture, Goldstein says: ‘Working collaboratively, innovatively and flexibly, the legal team strive to provide best of breed legal support to Challenger in meeting its strategy which is to provide its customers with financial security for retirement. We maintain a strong focus on our team culture, and we make use of various methods to maintain our culture’.